Some cute things

I have a few cute things I need to post before I forget them.

1. He is mimicking us now. The other night, I was holding him and I cleared my throat. He started laughing hysterically, and then he proceeded to clear his throat, too. He can also mimic coughs, grunts, burps, etc. He's gotten really good at repeating what we say. Today he was sliding down a slide, and Phillip was saying, "One, two, three!" So Parker started saying, "do, dee!" with the same inflection on the number three that Phillip had. It was hilarious!

2. He now grabs your hand and directs you where he wants you to go. This morning, we were in his room, and he left to go in the other room. I didn't follow, so he ran back in there and looked at me expectantly. I didn't catch on, so Phillip informed me that he was wanting me to chase him. That was it! I chased him, and he LOVED it! He was reading in his room this afternoon, and I left to go check on dinner. A few seconds later, he came out of his room fussing at me because I had left (even though I told him where I was going). He grabbed my hand and took me back to his room.

3. I am amazed at how he's developed physically. He can get on and off of his picnic bench without help. He can also climb pretty well now, and he's learning how to ease off of big pieces of furniture. And he's recently become really good at spinning around in circles. I guess watching Cousin Abby twirl around is really paying off.

4. He knows how to hold a phone. He props it on his shoulder. He also pretends the remote is a phone.

5. This morning, he left the room and we heard the back door open. We went in the kitchen and he had let Tulip out in the backyard. Tulip was standing on the back porch, and Parker was waiting on her in the doorway. That's what happens when we forget to lock the door. But, I'm starting to think Parker may be ready to take on some chores (like taking sister out to go to the bathroom).

6. He doesn't clap like most children do. He uses one hand and claps on his stomach. Not sure if we missed that milestone or what. Actually, I don't think clapping is a milestone. He can grab your hands and clap them together, but when it comes to his hands, he uses one on his stomach.

7. He says "bye" to everything. If you let the water out of the bathtub, he tells it bye. If you say all done, he tells the food bye. If you close a door, drawer, lid, etc, he tells it bye. This is not something we taught him, so I think it's pretty smart that he's figured out what bye actually means...it's the end of something.

8. I love this age. I feel like we can teach him anything right now.